The Blind Men Reach Out - Evangelical Caucus/Devotional

“Jesus sternly warned them: ‘See that no one knows about this!’ But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land” (Matthew 9:30–31).

Usually believers need to say more, not less, about the gospel of Jesus Christ. But here our Lord had definite reasons for commanding the people to whom He had ministered most directly not to publicize what had occurred.

He did not forbid them from speaking simply because He did not want their specific healing made known or because He did not want His miracles in general to be proclaimed. The miracles were evidence of His deity and legitimate mission. Christ commanded silence because it was not time to widely publicize His messiahship, lest the news stir up premature opposition to Him or encourage revolutionary Jews to rally around Him as a political deliverer.

Jesus also did not want to overemphasize His miracles. While they were a key element of His ministry, they were not the primary reason for His incarnation. Many already were not understanding the miracles rightly: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26).

Another reason why the Lord may not have wanted the men heralding His messiahship was because He wanted others, especially the Jews, to look to Scripture for the fulfillment of prophecy about the Messiah.

But in spite of Jesus’ command, the blind men still “went out and spread the news about Him.” This was disobedient of them and was the wrong response. However, it was the sort of sin that only grateful, eager new converts would commit. The men could not resist telling everyone of their miraculous deliverance.

How much of your everyday conversation is taken up with what the Lord has done for you?

Jesus gave similar instructions of secrecy when He raised Jairus’s daughter and healed lepers. In this latter case, the publicity interfered with His ability to minister publicly.

Mark 1:44-45 NKJV
[Jesus] said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

I’ve been in close proximity to a few celebrities. Even those with a small following often are surrounded by security guards when in public. This isn’t about pride or appearances. Celebrities often have very little privacy and often miss it.

Crowds have to be managed, like at a concert. Ten thousand people can sit and watch a performance in an orderly manner, but they cannot all meet the performer in person.

I think at least one factor for Jesus giving this instruction was for these practical reasons. And this is why He said it was better for Him to go away so that the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) could come. Since then, every believer has direct access to Jesus.

I think that’s true. Some people think Christ was also keeping a low profile because an uproar would attract the attention of Roman authorities.

There is a depth of wisdom to everything that Christ did that, if we begin to comprehend it, will always leave us amazed at His words and actions. Whenever we are not amazed, it is probably an indication that we have not really understood what is recorded.

One thing about Christ that was counterintuitive to the Jews and even His own family was that He did not seek His own glory. John 7 describes one of the reasons Jesus operated in secret was to avoid those who were trying to kill Him. He was not afraid of death, but He knew it was not the right time or way.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%207&version=NKJV

In this passage, He did not go to the Feast of Tabernacles publicly or at first, when His family went. But He arrived in the temple and taught, amazing everyone. The feast commemorated Israel dwelling in tents while wandering in the wilderness. Christ declared Himself to be the Light of the World, an allusion to the candle ceremony commemorating God’s appearance as a pillar of fire at night. And Christ offered Himself as the source of living water, like the water that Israel drank in the wilderness that miraculously came from the rock.

There is also a danger of missing the fact that these miracles were always signs pointing to Christ. It is like a child opening a present and becoming more enamored with the wrapping than with the gift inside. Christ reproved the multitudes for coming to Him after the feeding of the multitudes, just because they wanted more free meals. But also, His own inner circle of disciples had seen this miracle and had not been amazed, because their hearts were hardened. This is why He sent them away by ship, went to pray privately, and then came walking on the water. The disciples needed to have their hardness corrected.

Mark 6:51-52 NKJV
Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

This is why I say, if we are not amazed by something Christ did or said, it means we haven’t fully grasped what the passage means yet.

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